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| Self-Portrait 1885 |
Helen Allingham (née Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson 1848 – 1926)
was an English watercolour
painter and illustrator of
the Victorian era.
Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson
was born in 1848, at Swadlincote, Derbyshire,
the daughter of Alexander Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford
Paterson. Helen Paterson was the eldest of seven children. The family moved to Altrincham in Cheshire when she was
one year old. In 1862 her father and her 3-year-old sister Isabel died of diphtheria during an epidemic. The
family then moved to Birmingham where
some of Alexander Paterson's family lived.
Helen Mary Elizabeth Paterson was born in 1848, at Swadlincote, Derbyshire, the daughter of Alexander
Henry Paterson, a medical doctor, and Mary Herford Paterson. Helen Paterson was
the eldest of seven children. The family moved to Altrincham in Cheshire when she was
one year old. In 1862 her father and her 3-year-old sister Isabel died of diphtheria during an epidemic. The
family then moved to Birmingham where
some of Alexander Paterson's family lived.
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| Helen Allingham blue plaque, 16 Market Street, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England photo Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported |
Paterson showed a talent for art from an early age, drawing some
of her inspiration from her maternal grandmother Sarah Smith Herford and aunt Laura Herford, both accomplished
artists of their day. Her younger sister Caroline
Paterson also became a noted artist. She initially studied art for three years
at the Birmingham School of Design. From 1867 she attended the National Art
Training School in London, which had a separate division for women; her aunt
Laura Herford had previously studied there. The School is presently the Royal College of Art.
While studying at the National Art Training School, Paterson
worked as an illustrator, eventually deciding to give up her studies in favour
of a full-time career in art. She painted for children's and adult
books, as well as for periodicals, including “The Graphic” newspaper. One
highlight was her commission to provide twelve illustrations for the 1874
serialisation of Thomas Hardy’s novel “Far From the Madding Crowd” in Cornhill
Magazine. Her illustrations from this era were signed "H. Paterson".
She became a lifelong friend of Kate
Greenaway whom she met at evening art classes at the Slade School of Fine Art.
While Vincent Van
Gogh was developing as an artist by studying English illustrated journals he
was apparently struck by Patterson's work in The Graphic.
In 1874 she married William
Allingham, Irish poet and editor of Fraser’s Magazine, who was almost twice her
age. After her marriage she gave up her career as an illustrator and turned to watercolour painting. In 1881 the
family moved from Chelsea to Witley in Surrey.
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| Allingham's Surrey home |
Helen started to
paint the countryside and picturesque farmhouses and cottages of Surrey and
Sussex, for which she became famous. To her critics, however, despite elements
of protest in “The Condemned Cottage” for example, hers was an overly
sentimental, conservative vision of the area. She went on to paint rural scenes
in other parts of the country, as well as Venice, Italy. She completed several
portraits, including one of Thomas
Crlyle. In 1890, she became the first woman to be admitted as a full member of
the Royal Watercolour Society.
This is part 1 of a 5-part post on the works of Helen Allingham:
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| 1874 The Last House in Lynmouth watercolour, gouache and gum arabic on wove paper laid down on board 19.1 x 26.4 cm Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, CT |
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| 1876 William Allingham watercolour 29.2 x 23.5 cm © National Portrait Gallery, London |
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| 1880 A Bershire Cottage watercolour 36 x 26 cm Private Collection |
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| 1880 The Lady of the Manor watercolour with bodycolour 36 x 48 cm |
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| 1887 The Basket Woman watercolour 37 x 55 cm |
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| 1889c Gathering Flowers watercolour 27.5 x 24 cm Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia |
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| 1900c A Buckinghamshire house at Penstreet watercolour 36 x 50.5 cm |
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| 1900c Kitty watercolour 11.1 x 10 cm © Manchester City Galleries, UK |
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| 1902 Off Marketing watercolour 45.7 x 35.6 cm |
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| 1904 The Waller Oak, Coleshill watercolour |
1905 The Homes of Tennyson:
(Note: The reproduction quality of these images is rather poor)
(Note: The reproduction quality of these images is rather poor)
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| 1905 The homes of Tennyson Painted by Helen Allingham and described by Arthur Paterson |
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| Title page |
* * * * *
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| 1905c A Cottage Near Crocken Hill watercolour |
1906 The Six Bells, Hollingbourne, Kent:
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| 1906 The Six Bells, Hollingbourne, Kent watercolour |
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| The Six Bells, Hollingbourne, Kent watercolour |
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| A photograph of The Six Bells, Hollingbourne, Kent from 1906 |
Note: From here on in this series of works is undated, and will appear in alphabetical order by title.
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| A Berkshire Cottage watercolour |
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| A Cart by a Village watercolour |
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| A Chat at the Garden Gate watercolour 37 x 27 cm |
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| A Child at the Doorway of a Thatched Cottage watercolour |
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| A Cottage at Farringford, Isle of Wight watercolour |
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| A Cottage at Farringford, Isle of Wight watercolour |
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| A Cottage at Freshwater Gate watercolour and bodycolour 29.9 x 38.7 cm © Manchester City Galleries, UK |
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| A Cottage at Freshwater, Isle of Wight watercolour |
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| A Cottage at Nunton, Wiltshire watercolour 21.5 x 16.5 cm |
